The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1887-10-19
Tls Saily $nllEtin.
WEDNESDAY. OCT. 10, 1887.
zALINSKPs DYNAMITE GUN.
PARTICULARS OF THE RECENT TESLA
VESSEL BLOWN TO PIECES
HOW 1T WAS DONE.

VESSEL BLOWN TO PIECES
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
The pneumatic dynamite gun, to
perfect which Lieutenant Edmund
L, Zalinski, Battery Ii, Artillery,
United States Army, has labored
for two years, was officially tested
by him yesterday in the presence OF
Secretary Whitney and the Naval
committee Of the House of Repre-
sentatives. The test was O success
insomuch as it demonstrated that it
was possible TO project a dynamite
cartridge one mile with accuracy and
explode it on the deck or beneath
the hull of the vessel fired at. The
target used was the two masted
schooner Stillman, eighty tons bur-
den, late of the United States Coast
Survey, but recently condemned
and reserved TO be used in torpedo
experimenting. She was anchored
about one mile south Of Fort Lafay-
cite, where the gun stood. To
speak accurately, she was 1880
yards away from the muzzle of the
gun. She was smashed into drift
wood with two shots.
The doomed schooner was twenty
feet beam and eighty feet long. She
was anchored with her stern
nearest to the gunner's sight. This
made a very small target at the dis
lance. Then people who watched
the dynamite gun saw wreath Of
gray vapor play about the muzzle
and presently heard a screeching
sound followed by roar. The gray
vapor marked the rushing of CON-
pressed air from the gun--a tube
eight inches in diameter-into the
surrounding warmer air. This
caused the formation of steam. In
twelve seconds long capsule-shaped
projectile fell ten yards astern aud
little to the starboard side OF the
schooner. This was a blank cart
ridge and was fired to test the eleva-
ton and range. The angle of the
elevation of the gun was fourteen
degrees. A pressure of 600 pounds
to the square inch had been general
ed in the breech of the gun with
which to propel the missile, which
weighed fifty-fve pounds, the exact
weight of the dynamite shell. After
firing it was found that the pressure
had gone down some ninety pounds
to the square inch. 1t took thirty
minutes to restore it to GOO pounds,
at the expiration of which time an
other dummy projectile was fired.
The guns elevation was about the
same, but the projectile fell only
eight yards astern and to the star
board.
Half an hour later, and with a re-
gistered pressure of 6O7 pounds to
the square inch, she'll containing
fifty-fve pounds of explosive gela-
tine was fired. This is 80 percent
more destructive than an equal
weight of dynamite. The shell
fell close under the starboard quar-
ter, and the conclusion incident to
the explosion Jared the vessel so
that the mainmast broke off some
three feet above the deck. The ex-
plosion sent column of water about
65 or 67 feet in the air. 1t was APP
parently about 20 feet thick. This
fell partially upon the torn-off main
mast and swept 1t by the board.
The explosion also loosened all the
woodwork about the schooner,
Thirty minutes later second shell
was fired. 1t fell directly under
the stern of the vessel and explod-
ed under her keel about amidships.
The result was terrific. The schoon-
er was lifted up, fairly torn apart
amidships, each half settling down
into the water about twenty feet
from the other. The taff-rails
were under water in less than thir-
ty seconds, and only the foremost
and its standing rigging were left
in view. All around this foated
pieces of the schooner about as big
as shingles.
In each of these instances the
gelatine was exploded by percussion
in this way, A small electric bat
terry was affixed to the side, the only
thing lacking to start its operation
being moisture. A thin piece of
blotting-paper kept this out. When
the shell was immersed the moisture
admitted generated sufficient cleo
tricity to fire a detonator of fulmi-
nate of mercury which exploded the
gelatine. There is another method
of firing, as was instanced by the
next shot. This struck the star
board standing rigging, and the i'm
pact fired a percussion cap in the
head of the cartridge and thus ex-
ploded the gelatine. By this time
the schooner was badly battered to
pieces and had drifted twenty yards
away. One more cartridge was fred
into the mass, smashing 1t into match
wood.-N. Y. World. Sept. 81.